Stair-builder&#39;s square



April 8 1924. 1,489,789

F. J. RYAN STAIR BUILDER S SQUARE Original Filed April 12, 1920 Frag/r J Q9/4217 Patented Apr. l fidu Um er norrnm's sen J. RYAN, OF SPOKANE, WASNGTON.

- Applicationfiled April 12, 1920, Serial No. 373,328. Renewed. February 6, 1924.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known. that I, FRANK J. ltrAn, a citizen of the United States, resldmg at Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stair-Builders Squares, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to an 1mproved stair builders square of that type involving a geometrical instrumentwhich is longitudinally adjlustable and extensible and provided with opposed straight edges or blades at its ends having a sliding pivotal connection with the body of the implement, and while I shall hereinafter refer to the device as used in stair build ing, it will of course be understood that numerous other applications and uses thereof may be made.

In the specific actual practice of the invention, in stair building, especially where the steps are located and built between inclosing walls, the usual practice of the carpenter or stair builder is to fit and adjust the risers and treads of the stair steps, after the rough carpentry work and plastering are finished. In most instances it is found that each tread and each riser requires individual marking, cutting and fitting, before embodiment in the structure, and as this class of work calls for exact measurements in order to insure a neat and workmanlike finish to the stairway, it is essential that each riser and each tread be marked and cut with accuracy for, subsequent jointing in the staircase.

To accomplish this purpose I have invented the instrument or tool forming the subject matter of my present invention and application for patent, by means of which the user may with rapidity, facility and accuracy, mark or lay ofi the tread or riser to correspond exactly with previously ascertained measurements. For instance the ends of the tread or riser, to properly fit in the stairway, may require cutting on a slight angle to meet irregularities in the side walls of the staircase, or the stairway may be slightly wider at one place than another. To overcome these irregularities ll utilize the device of my invention to secure the exact dimensions and formation of the space to be occupied, and without alteration or change in the implement lay oil or mark the riser or tread, with the result that accurate cutting and fitting are made and a finished appearance is secured when the riser or treadare put in place.

The invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts involving a telescopic or longitudinally extensible and contractible bar with securing means thereon for retaining it inadjusted position, and with angle square or straight edge blades at its opposed ends for ascertaining the. angularity of the ends of the tread or riser.

In the accompanying drawings l have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention in which the parts are combined and arranged according to the best mode I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles of my invention.

Figure l is a plan view of the instrument of the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective View showing a portion of the instrument, with parts detached for clearness of illustration.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, detail, sectional view.

lln the preferred form of my invention as depicted in the drawings I utilize a telescoping, extensible and contractible beam or bar made up of three sections 1, 2, and 3,

the members 1 and 2 being tubes of suit able metal and pro-per size, and the member 3 comprising a stem or short rod which may be hollow or solid, but preferably of metal. These sectional members constitute a beam capable of elongation or contraction to adapt the instrument for measuring distances or lengths between two points, which distances may be ascertained and determined by proper manipulation of the beam, and after the desired distance is secured, the sections may be held in adjust/ed position by means of one or both of the sleeve nuts 4: and 5, the former adapted to thread on the end of the section 1 and the latter for a similar purpose on the end of the section 2, as seen in Figure 1.

As illustrated in Figure 3 the sleeve nuts are formed with an interior, tapered threaded surface, and the ends'of the tubular sections 1 and 2 are slotted as at 6, and threaded as at 7 to receive the nuts. The slots in the tube ends provide resilient tongues 6 and it will he apparent in Figure 3 that turning the sleeve nut home will result in clamping the slotted end of the Mill lid

93 weaves tube 1 in frictional contact with the inner tube 2, to hold the two sections in rigid relation. The same action is, carried out in the use of the sleeve nut 5 and the same result accomplished with the sections 2 and 3 and in this manner the beam may be eiongated, or contracted, and secured in its adjusted position.

On'the opposed ends of the beam are carried extensions or heads 8 and 9 of dupllcate type, and each equipped with a slotted, sliding, pivotal, strai t edge blade, as 10, 11, respectively whic through the instrumentality of the clamp screw 12 of a suitable cam-clamp device, may be secured and held either in parallelism and gerpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cam, or they may be secured in positions at an angle to the axis of the beam. Thus the slotted slide blades may be moved and adjusted transversely of the axis of the beam and also moved to positions of angularity with relation to the beam, and then clamped by the device 12, in the utilization of the instrument. The free end of each of the heads, which heads may be of hard wood if desired, is fashioned to receive an angular thimble 13, of metal, and corresponding to the cross sectional area of the wood head, and each of the thimbles is equipped with an inteal, centrally located, threaded socket memer or cup 14 which enters a recess 14' in the end of the head provided for the purpose, and the thimble is secured on the head as by screws 14 in Figure 2.

In joining the heads at the ends of the beam I utilize a pair of opposed threaded stems 15 rigidly secured to the section 1 in suitable manner, which screw into the sockets 14 of the thimble and may be entered therein to make a close and tight joint. These heads are detachable from the beam, but to prevent accidental displacement I provide resilient, frictional, metal clips 16, of U-shape that are clamped on the beam near the ends thereof. The clips and headfastening devices at the ends of the beam are similar in structure, and each is provided with a slot 17 parallel with the longitudinal axis of the beam, and co-acting with a pin 18 radiating from the outer face of the beam and limiting the movement of the slide clip on the beam. The slide clip may be moved by pressure of the finger or thumb on the bent handle 19 and carries a locking pin 20 adapted to enter and engage in the hole or aperture 21, alined therewith, and opening in the outer end of the thimble 13. From this description it will be obvious that after the head has been secured by the stem and socket connection on the beam, the locking pin may be entered into its keeper opening 21, and a rigid, non-rotatable, joint secured between the head and the beam at both ends of the latter.

From the foregoing the utility and operation of the implement will be apparent, and the device may be used by one skilled in stair building, or used for other purposes, with facility for accomplishing the results set forth.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. The combination in an instrument as described with a telescopic beam having threaded stems at its ends, of heads and blades carried by said heads, each said head provided with a thimble and the latter formed with a threaded socket sleeve to receive a stem, and slidable locking devices on the ends of the beam adapted to engage said thimbles and prevent rotation of the beam relatively to said heads.

2. The combination in an instrument as described including a head and a blade thereon, of a thimble on said head formed with a central, interiorly threaded sleeve and provided with an aperture, a beam having a threaded stem to be screwed into said sleeve, a frictionally engaged resilient slide clip on the beam having a slot, a pin on the beam co-acting with the slot to limit the movement of the clip and guide the same, and a locking pin on the clip adapted to engage the aperture in said thimble to prevent rotation of the beam relatively to said head.

In testimony whereof, I aifix my signature.

FRANK J. RYAN. 

